It is well known in the art to utilize soap and water to effectively kill or reduce germs on a person's hand or other items to be cleansed. Minimizing germs is critical in hospital and food preparation settings so as to minimize the spread of disease and other harmful pathogens. This is done to ensure the well-being of patients and customers and to prevent further transmission of the germs.
However, as microbes and germs become more resistant to conventional methods of sanitization, other microbe/germ killing techniques have been developed. Indeed, use of some light frequencies in the ultraviolet range have shown promise. One common approach is to use UVC wavelengths (peak=254 nm) of UV light. However, the use of UVC light above 250 nm has drawbacks in that prolonged exposure can cause degradation to a person's skin or the material. As is well documented, these longer light wavelengths (250 nm and above) can cause burning which may contribute to formation of skin cancer or other maladies. Exposure to UVC wavelengths is also reported to directly damage DNA. The relatively long wavelength of UVC (vs. VUV and FUV<230 nm) allows penetration into the basil skin cells which are particularly sensitive to UV induced DNA damage.
Use of FUV for sanitization has been previously reported however, its efficacy is limited by lack of penetration which necessitates a direct line of sight by the UV rays. In other words, its inability to penetrate a skin wrinkle or fold allows microbes to be shielded from the ultraviolet rays and, as such, the effectiveness of the ultraviolet light is diminished in killing all microbes on the object.
It is also known to sometimes use peroxide in combination with UV light, but the peroxide has inadequate efficacy at concentrations which do not cause skin irritation. Further transportation, storage stability, and handling of peroxide are a complication for wide scale implementation in uncontrolled environments.
Direct disinfection of water by VUV has been reported. In such a scenario, a supply of water is routed through exposure of VUV light so as to generate a high level of active species in the water. But useful conversion of a liquid media in to a sanitizing liquid in combination with VUV and/or FUV is unknown.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a sanitization system that uses select combination of ultraviolet light frequencies and a medium that increases both the number and reactivity of active species. Moreover, there is a need in the art to utilize a wavelength of ultraviolet light that does not damage the item being cleansed and which uses a medium that does not damage or degrade the article.